In high school, you were on the football team, yet now
you're sitting behind a desk wearing a suit. While shuffling
paperwork, you pray for weekends and calculate whether a 7-iron
will make the 14th hole. You had thought about a career in sports,
but that seemed about as likely as becoming a rock star, so you
opted for an MBA program.

Sound familiar? If so, it's high time you ditched the 9-to-5
life and returned to the world of team sports because, even if you
don't play like Jordan, you can still make a career out of your
love of sports. There may only be a few Jerry Maguires out there,
but there are countless amateur enthusiasts waiting for someone
like you to organize and guide their events.

With so many people stuck indoors during their working hours
only to go home and watch TV after work, amateur athletes are
itching to breathe fresh air and enjoy the camaraderie and friendly
competition of team sports. "There's nothing better than
sports to reduce the stresses and tensions of everyday life,
personally and professionally," says Mike May of the Sporting
Goods Manufacturers Association. "We need physical release to
bring balance to our lives, and that's where sports come
in."

To make amateur sporting events more play than work for
participants, sports event companies organize teams for sports like
golf, softball, in-line hockey and billiards by providing venues
for events, recruiting team members and calculating score sheets
and handicap systems. Since this is such a hands-on, customer
service-oriented industry, companies like American Poolplayers
Association and Triple Crown Sports are franchising their services
to provide better local service. "Many people gravitate toward
a sports franchise because, in their minds, it has instant
credibility," says May. "There's organization and
structure."

If you know the pleasure of playing a competitive team sport,
it's not a big leap to imagine how much fun it would be to
bring games into the lives of stressed-out weekend warriors. So
suit up and get ready to play.

Batter Up

After participating in a Triple Crown Sports softball league for
10 years and running a few fund-raising tournaments, Grant Stanis
knew a little something about softball events. For Stanis, owner of
his own computer consulting business, business and pleasure formed
a perfect match when he discovered that Triple Crown Sports, a
sports event company based in Fort Collins, Colorado, was
franchising.

"I knew Triple Crown had an established product here on
Long Island," says Stanis, 33, whose territory covers part of
New York and Connecticut. "I knew if I could come in and
[build on] what they'd already built, it could be a very
lucrative business." Stanis bought a franchise in Long Island
last December to run in addition to his consulting business; he
staged his first event in February.

Dave and Annette King founded Triple Crown Sports in 1982 out of
a love of softball. "For five years, we ran the business
strictly [so we could] play in high-end tournaments for the weekend
warrior, the amateur adult athlete," explains Dave. The Kings
gradually added other sports to their roster: youth baseball,
girls' fast-pitch softball and in-line hockey, with plans in
the works to add basketball and soccer as well. In 1997, they
started franchising the territories they currently have in 35
states.

Although Triple Crown Sports' events run seasonally, time
management is still of the essence. "My events run from
February through August," says Stanis. "From September
through October, I'm trying to sell sponsorships. In December,
we're preparing for our off-season mailing that tells our teams
the schedule for next year. So although there's downtime in
[terms of] events, there's really no downtime in the
workload." Stanis attends each event, oversees merchandise
sales and gathers customer feedback from the players.
"It's important that I have a presence because it's my
product I'm giving to these people. I'm always interested
in feedback, both good and bad. Without bad feedback, you can't
build a stronger event."

Rack `Em

Though many people look to sports for physical release,
there's also the social aspect--the camaraderie that comes from
getting together with friends after work, showing off your skills
and leading your team to the championships. "We offer an
opportunity [for players] to get together and socialize," says
Renee Poehlman, president of the American Poolplayers Association
(APA), a Lake St. Louis, Missouri-based franchisor that organizes
amateur billiard leagues. "It's a great social
timeout."

APA franchisees recruit players wherever pool tables are
present, from bars and lodges to corporate-sponsored events. By
using a handicap system, players can compete on the same level,
regardless of their skill, for the chance to attend the annual
national championships, where the APA awards $800,000 in
prizes.

Phil Brooker was already passionate about billiards before he
became a franchisee. A veteran of APA leagues, he discovered other
people were searching for well-organized leagues. "I started
telling people about the APA league and how they use a handicap
system much different than [most] local leagues," says
Brooker, 33, who, with his partner, Taz, and one employee, runs 125
teams around Camarillo, California. "The response I usually
got was a raised eyebrow and the statement `Someone should start
that up around here.' Well, enough people made that comment
that I decided to look into an APA franchise."

Brooker, who also works a full-time job, spends nights and
weekends recruiting league players and finding locations. "I
don't find customers. I find pool tables. Hang around pool
tables, and customers will find you," he says.

One of the main challenges, Brooker says, is keeping up with the
paperwork for the leagues. "We won't be successful if the
handicap system isn't accurate. Many of our customers only see
the paperwork we exchange on a weekly basis, so it's important
the paperwork is handled promptly and accurately. Taz does a good
job of that."

Team Spirit

Success in a sporting event franchise rests mainly on two
skills: salesmanship and organization. For most sports enthusiasts,
the first one comes easily. If you love the game, it's not hard
to sell it. "Pool is the one sport anyone can play, and no
matter how good you get, there's always room for
improvement," says Brooker. "I feel good knowing I've
brought my style of therapy into the lives of literally hundreds of
people whose days are hopefully a little brighter because of
it." If you're having fun running your business, it
won't be difficult to convince customers it will be fun to
participate.

Organization is just as important. "There's a series of
many things that have to happen behind the scenes for the [events]
to work," says Dave King. "The timeline is well out in
front." Once the season starts, you have to keep up with your
current players, score and run events, and simultaneously plan your
next season by finding venues and new recruits.

"Anyone who gets involved with sports [franchising] has to
realize you're involved because you love sports," says
May. "You're going to put in some long hours because your
job is to cater to people in their recreational time."

Though a sporting event franchise may not yield you millions,
it's relatively inexpensive to get into and offers room for
growth. The APA currently has 164 franchises, with only 50 percent
of the nation covered. With an estimated 4 million Americans
playing pool every week, it's not surprising the largest APA
franchisee leads more than 1,000 teams.

Triple Crown Sports plans to slowly franchise the territories
the corporate headquarters currently runs in 35 states, though Dave
King says the company is in no hurry to do so. "We're a
little different than a lot of companies because we're in no
hurry to sell the next 10 franchises. We want to get the right 10
franchisees."

Looking back over the past 20 years of the computer age,
it's not surprising so many people crave both a social and
physical outlet to participate in outside of work. And with new
sports popping up all the time, there'll be even more choices
for weekend warriors. "There are so many levels of opportunity
to participate within the existing sports that we have," says
May. "When you throw in the mix of new sports that have come
on the scene in the past 10 years--in-line skating, in-line hockey,
snowboarding--the number of people who are involved in some type of
grass-roots sports effort has probably never been higher."
With so many sports and so many players, maybe it's time for
you to get off that bench and see how competitive you really
are.

They Got Game

By Liza Potter

Ready to get off the bench? Contact these companies for more
information: